Growth-regulator Interactions in the Growth of the Shoot System of Avena sativa Seedlings: I. THE GROWTH OF THE FIRST INTERNODE

1. Segments, 3.5 mm. long, cut from the first internode of Avenasativa seedlings grown in complete darkness respond to bothauxins and gibberellic acid by accelerated extension. 2. The optimum concentration of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is10 p.p.m. and of gibberellic acid (GA) is 0.1 p.p.m. 3. The degree of stimulation relative to the growth of controlsegments is affected by the inclusion in the segement of thenode between the internode and coleoptile. Thus the gibberellineffect is greatly increased while the IAA effect is decreased.The optimal concentrations are not affected by inclusion ofthe node. 4. These results can best be explained in terms of the supplyby the node tissue of an endogenous auxin which is necessaryfor the expression of GA action. 5. Numerous factorial experiments demonstrated that there isno detectable interaction between applied IAA and GA in thepromotion of first-internode extension. This implies that thepostulated endogenous auxin which synergized GAA action in (4)is either an active form of IAA produced only in the node tissueor is a completely different auxin. 6. No synergism of growth-promotive action can be detected betweenGA and the two synthetic auxins I-naphthylacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyaceticacid. 7. p-chlorophenoxy-iso-butyric acid (PCIB) anc 2,4,6-trichlorophenoxyaceticacid (2,4,6-T) act as weak auxins and thus antagonize competitivelythe promotive action of GA. 8. The anti-auxin -(I-naphythyl-methyl-sulphide)propionic acid(NMSP) antagonizes competitively the promotive action of bothIAA and GA. 9. The facts under (5)–(8) suggest that auxins and GAare acting at the same growth-promotion centres and may competefor them. 10. Growth inhibitions are induced by high concentrations ofPCIB, 2,4,6-T and NMSP. The inhibitions produced by PCIB and2,4,6-T are both synergized by supra-optimal concentrationsof IAA while that of NMSP is synergized by supra-optimal concentrationsof both IAA and GA. This similarity of the effects of IAA andGA suggests that their inhibition actions also are of a closelysimilar nature.     

Response of plant species richness and primary productivity in shrublands along a north–south gradient in Europe to seven years of experimental warming and drought: reductions in primary productivity in the heat and drought year of 2003

We used a nonintrusive field experiment carried out at six sites – Wales (UK), Denmark (DK), the Netherlands (NL), Hungary (HU), Sardinia (Italy – IT), and Catalonia (Spain – SP) – along a climatic and latitudinal gradient to examine the response of plant species richness and primary productivity to warming and drought in shrubland ecosystems. The warming treatment raised the plot daily temperature by ca. 1 °C, while the drought treatment led to a reduction in soil moisture at the peak of the growing season that ranged from 26% at the SP site to 82% in the NL site. During the 7 years the experiment lasted (1999–2005), we used the pin‐point method to measure the species composition of plant communities and plant biomass, litterfall, and shoot growth of the dominant plant species at each site. A significantly lower increase in the number of species pin‐pointed per transect was found in the drought plots at the SP site, where the plant community was still in a process of recovering from a forest fire in 1994. No changes in species richness were found at the other sites, which were at a more mature and stable state of succession and, thus less liable to recruitment of new species. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and temperature of the growing season was positive at the coldest site and negative at the warmest site. The warming treatment tended to increase the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) at the northern sites. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and soil moisture during the growing season was not significant at the wettest sites, but was positive at the driest sites. The drought treatment tended to reduce the ANPP in the NL, HU, IT, and SP sites. The responses to warming were very strongly related to the Gaussen aridity index (stronger responses the lower the aridity), whereas the responses to drought were not. Changes in the annual aboveground biomass accumulation, litterfall, and, thus, the ANPP, mirrored the interannual variation in climate conditions: the most outstanding change was a decrease in biomass accumulation and an increase in litterfall at most sites during the abnormally hot year of 2003. Species richness also tended to decrease in 2003 at all sites except the cold and wet UK site. Species‐specific responses to warming were found in shoot growth: at the SP site, Globularia alypum was not affected, while the other dominant species, Erica multiflora, grew 30% more; at the UK site, Calluna vulgaris tended to grow more in the warming plots, while Empetrum nigrum tended to grow less. Drought treatment decreased plant growth in several studied species, although there were some species such as Pinus halepensis at the SP site or C. vulgaris at the UK site that were not affected. The magnitude of responses to warming and drought thus depended greatly on the differences between sites, years, and species and these multiple plant responses may be expected to have consequences at ecosystem and community level. Decreases in biodiversity and the increase in E. multiflora growth at the SP site as a response to warming challenge the assumption that sensitivity to warming may be less well developed at more southerly latitudes; likewise, the fact that one of the studied shrublands presented negative ANPP as a response to the 2003 heat wave also challenges the hypothesis that future climate warming will lead to an enhancement of plant growth and carbon sequestration in temperate ecosystems. Extreme events may thus change the general trend of increased productivity in response to warming in the colder sites.     

Growth Requirements of San Francisco Sour Dough Yeasts and Bakers' Yeast

The growth requirements of several yeasts isolated from San Francisco sour dough mother sponges were compared with those of bakers' yeast. The sour dough yeasts studied were one strain of Saccharomyces uvarum, one strain of S. inusitatus, and four strains of S. exiguus. S. inusitatus was the only yeast found to have an amino acid requirement, namely, methionine. All of the yeasts had an absolute requirement for pantothenic acid and a partial requirement for biotin. Inositol was stimulatory to all except bakers' yeast. All strains of S. exiguus required niacin and thiamine. Interestingly, S. inusitatus, the only yeast that required methionine, also needed folic acid. For optimal growth of S. exiguus in a molasses medium, supplementation with thiamine was required.     

Breeding of Anopheles mosquitoes in irrigated areas of South Punjab, Pakistan

As part of investigations on potential linkages between irrigation and malaria transmission, all surface water bodies in and around three villages along an irrigation distributary in South Punjab, Pakistan, were surveyed for anopheline mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) from April 1999 to March 2000. Samples were characterized according to exposure to sunlight, substratum, presence of vegetation, fauna, inorganic matter and physical water condition (clear/turbid/foul). Also water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electroconductivity (EC) and pH of sites were recorded. A total of 37982 Anopheles larvae of six morphological types were collected from 2992 samples taken from irrigation/agricultural and village/domestic aquatic habitats. Anopheles subpictus Grassi sensu lato was by far the most abundant (74.3%), followed by An. culicifacies Giles s.l. (4.1%), An. stephensi Liston s.l. (2.6%), An. pulcherrimus Theobald (1.8%), An. peditaeniatus Leicester (0.3%) and An. nigerrimus Giles (0.1%). The four most abundant species were significantly associated with waterlogged fields and communal village drinking-water tanks. Habitat characteristics most correlated with occurrence of anophelines were the physical water condition and the absence/presence of fauna, particularly predators. Occurrence and abundance of Anopheles immatures were not significantly correlated with water temperature, DO, EC or pH. Malaria vectors of the Anopheles culicifacies complex occurred at relatively low densities, mainly in irrigated and waterlogged fields. In South Punjab, where rainfall is very low, it should be possible to reduce anopheline breeding through water management, as larvae develop mainly in water bodies that are directly or indirectly related to the extensive canal-irrigation system.     

Genetic differentiation among populations of a Hispaniolan trunk anole that exhibit geographical variation in dewlap colour

Long neglected by classic island biogeographical theory, speciation within and among islands is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to insular diversity. Although the factors responsible for island speciation remain poorly understood, this process appears critically dependent on geographical variation and speciation in allopatry or parapatry. Here, we investigate geographical variation and speciation in a complex of Hispaniolan trunk anoles (Anolis distichus), where populations with strikingly distinct dewlap colours and patterns correspond with deeply divergent mtDNA structure. Using a multilocus, population‐level analysis, we investigate whether these phenotypically and mitochondrially distinct populations exhibit the type of nuclear differentiation expected among species or incipient species. Along a transect that extends across a recently recessed marine barrier, our results are consistent with the persistence of an abrupt phenotypic and mitochondrial transition following secondary contact, in spite of little or no evidence for a reduction in nuclear gene flow. Along a second transect extending across a steep environmental gradient, our phenotypic and microsatellite data suggest a sharp genetic break with little or no admixture, whereas mtDNA recovers a signature of extensive unidirectional introgression. Together, these results are consistent with previous studies of Lesser Antillean anoles, suggesting that allopatric divergence alone is insufficient for speciation, whereas reduced gene flow and partial reproductive isolation may accumulate in the presence of ecological gradients.     

Morphological studies of Asian rice and its related wild species and the recognition of a new Australian taxon

In order to clarify the taxonomy and the interrelationships among Asiatic cultivated rice, Oryza sativa , and its related wild species ( O. rufipogon, O. nivara and O . barthii ), 41 morphological characters were examined. Numerical taxonomic methods were used to analyse the data and to illustrate species relationships.
Distinctive differences among the materials studied suggest the retention of O. rufipogoon, O. nivara and O . sativa as three distinct species. The origin of O. sativa from O. nivara through domestication is discussed. An annual wild taxon from Australia, which had been classified as a form of O. nivara , is shown to be distinct from typical O. nivnra and is raised to specific rank. This species has been named O. meridionalis Ng.     

海南省粗叶木属新记录植物五种

报道发现于海南省鹦哥岭的粗叶木属(Lasianthus Jack)海南省新记录种5种,并描述了它们的主要辨认特征。其中4种(华南粗叶木Lasianthus austrosinensis H.S.Lo、长梗粗叶木L.filipes Chun ex H.S.Lo、西南粗叶木L.henryi Hutch.、台湾粗叶木L.formosensis Matsum.)在与海南邻近的广东省与广西壮族自治区均有记录,而大叶粗叶木L.rigidus Miq.则在热带亚洲具有明显的间断性分布。     

海南鹦哥岭自然保护区的珍稀濒危植物与保育

对鹦哥岭的珍稀濒危植物进行野外调查表明,本区共有野生分布的珍稀濒危植物79种,隶属于47科71属。其中属于1999年国家重点一级保护4种,如海南苏铁(Cycas hainansis)、坡垒(Hopea hainansis)、台湾苏铁(Cy-cas taiwaniana)和伯乐树(Bretschneidera sinensis),国家二级保护14种。建议将18种列入国家保护名录中,20种列入省级保护名录,其中有30种为海南特有种。鹦哥岭珍稀濒危植物面临的威胁主要有原始森林面积的减少、人为毁林开荒和分布区限制。针对珍稀濒危植物的现状和受到的威胁,提出了应重点加强保护的6个地点及相应的保护对策和建议。     

实时荧光定量PCR及其在传染性疾病检测中的应用

实时荧光定量PCR技术被广泛应用于实验研究、临床检测中。与普通的PCR相比,实时荧光定量PCR技术具有特异性强、灵敏度高、重复性好、定量准确、速度快、全封闭反应等优点。我们综述了实时荧光定量PCR技术的原理、定量方法,及其在传染性疾病检测研究中的应用。